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Friday, March 30, 2007

The idea of making these spirals just popped up in my mind when I was walking through the aisles and came across these frozen spirals. Suddenly I thought I could make them with breadstick dough. I also wanted to make something for weekend herb blogging, so why not a tangy cilantro chutney inside the small spiral buns. In India we get buns stuffed with savory, even puff pastry is a delicious savory there. I couldn’t find anything like that in US bakeries. I saw all the buns or crescent rolls dipped and coated in icing sugar, cinnamon and topped with powdered sugar. Any version of bread, buns or pastry is sweet here. So I thought why not create a new combination. Thus was born the “Cilantro spirals”.This is my contribution to the weekend herb blogging hosted by Kalyn .

Food Facts!!

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), also commonly called cilantro in North America.

The fresh leaves are an essential ingredient in many Vietnamese foods, Asian chutneys, Mexican salsas and guacamole, and very tasty when used in sushi rolls. Chopped coriander leaves are also used as a garnish on cooked dishes such as dal and many curries. As heat diminishes their flavour quickly, coriander leaves are often used raw or added to the dish right before serving. (Though in some Indian and Central Asian recipes, coriander leaves are used in huge amounts and cooked till they dissolve into sauce and their flavour mellows.

The fresh coriander herb is best stored in the refrigerator in airtight containers, after chopping off the roots. The leaves do not keep well and should be eaten quickly, as they lose their aroma when dried or frozen.

Prepare the chutney by grinding all the ingredients together without pouring water. The chutney becomes watery automatically from the jaggery, salt and tamarind puree.You can increase or decrease the amount of chillies and jaggery depending on your taste buds.Now cut the bread sticks lengthwise and top it with chutney and chopped onions.Roll them gently as shown in the picture and brush it up with some melted butter and top it with cheese. Bake it for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees, until they get a beautiful golden brown color. Enjoy them along with a hot cup of tea. Ummm…. Heavenly!!

Sharmi, you are an innovator. I love savoury stuff more than sweet so to know that I can try making a savoury bun such as yours is great. I like cilantro a lot and this is a new way for me to use it. As with so many of your recipes, I have made a note and plan to try it. Thanks for all your continued hard work.

Sharmi,How creative of your girl. Lovley. I love those spirals. And about our trip to Hawaii we went to 3 islands. Started with Oahu..then went to The Big Island and finally to Maui. Loved all the three. Everyone of these are beautiful. If you are nature lover you will just enjoy the trip as we did. Should you need more info anytime please do not hesitate to ask.HugsSeema

What a great idea, Sharmi. You're right -- it's unusual to see a small, savory pastry in shops here, at least in my experience. Aside from the occasional (and large) ham and cheese croissant, I can't think of too many offhand. I love cilantro so I will have to give these a try, thanks :)

Sharmi..Excellent Blog!! I love browsing through ur blog. I tried this recipe couple of days back and was a big hit! Real easy...and i dint have the cilantro paste so i used the basil pesto i made couple of days back. Thaks for sharing this snack!

Hi Sharmi, very cool blog !!!I was visting your blog couple weeks ago and I saw this recipe. I ended up making this recipe with very few midofications, turned out really well. I couldn't capture the picture as nice as yours.. But the taste was gud !!.. You can see this recipe in my blg : http://sruthiskitchen.blogspot.com

I will delete the recipe from my blog if you have any concerns. let me know pls..